


Not As Planned

by Eline (Sans_Souci)



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, F/M, Genderswap, Pregnancy, Pregnancy sex, Teen Pregnancy, Teenagers, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2008-09-11
Updated: 2013-11-17
Packaged: 2017-12-11 13:02:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/799032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sans_Souci/pseuds/Eline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Suzaku/Luluko. Gender-swapped Lelouch. Request for Suzaku x pregnant!Zero. Suzaku returning to Ashford 6 months after the events of R1 and discovering that something has gone seriously awry with his plans . . . Plus Suzaku-hating uber-protective Uncle Rolo attempting to cock-block Suzaku. Spoilers for R2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Flaw in the Plan

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Setting down Arthur’s cat carrier, Kururugi Suzaku viewed the sprawling grounds of Ashford Academy from his temporary dormitory. It was as though he had never left it.

But it had changed. Everything had changed. All because of _her_.

She was here, living with one of the Emperor’s covert agents, under the surveillance of Baroness Viletta Nu. 

Luluko vi Britannia, former Princess of the Empire, was supposed to be under the Emperor’s _Geass_ , unaware of her bloody past as the terrorist leader Zero. But Zero had suddenly re-emerged in the affair with the Chinese Federation. It should not have been possible, but Suzaku could not deny that this Zero was as brilliantly ruthless as the previous one. And that could only mean that Luluko had somehow regained her memories.

Shaking off the feeling of nostalgia brought on by the familiar surroundings, Suzaku went to meet with Viletta Nu. There would be little time for reminiscing now.

In the underground surveillance centre, Viletta Nu had the files and records ready for his inspection.

“Luluko stopped attending school last month,” Viletta said in response to his query. 

From his seat opposite her main console, Suzaku leaned forwards. “That’s suspicious. Did you discover why?”

Viletta shifted uncomfortably. “It’s probably better that you hear it now than from the rumour mill. We’ve known for almost four months now that Luluko is pregnant. She absented herself when her condition became too obvious . . .”

Suzaku was struck dumb with shock. Viletta mistook his silence as a signal to continue. “Despite the care that the Ashfords took, the rumour of her pregnancy leaked out somehow. It’s become the talk of the campus.”

Recovering his ability to speak, Suzaku remembered his true purpose in returning to Ashford. “And has L--she has been here all the time?”

“Rolo is with her almost twenty-four seven.” Viletta looked up from her keypad. “We have records of all her movements.”

“But that means . . .”

“She may not be the new Zero after all.” Viletta voiced the conclusion that he could not.

“Nevertheless, I have a duty to investigate her.” Suzaku stood up and turned to leave. “I will need copies of your surveillance records.”

“Consider it done.”

Suzaku left quickly before he could give himself away. But he could feel Viletta’s eyes on his back, wondering . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Luluko Lamperouge, supposed invalid and student, sat down heavily as her erstwhile younger brother and spy delivered the unexpected news to her in her private study. “Suzaku’s back?”

“I heard it from Viletta,” Rolo confirmed.

“He probably suspects . . .” Luluko bit her lip in agitation. He should not have had reason to suspect her. They had been so careful in planning their ruse . . .

Seven months into her pregnancy, it was impossible to hide her condition, much less masquerade as Zero in his trademark outfit. C.C. had been acting as her proxy in the past month via a tiny, mostly untraceable transmitter that they had wheedled off Rakshata. They had to keep changing satellite channels, but it had been worth it. The Black Knights’ communications network had made it easier to maintain the charade and Luluko was glad that she had thought to put in place certain communication channels long before they were actually required.

Still . . . _Suzaku_. Of all the people she counted as close acquaintances, he knew her--both sides of her--best.

It had been terrible to find out about her pregnancy _twice_. The first time when she was already three months into her term and the second, more awful revelation when C.C. had restored her memories a month back. 

Luluko Lamperouge had only known that her brief secretive affair with Kururugi Suzaku had resulted in her unexpected pregnancy. She had been despondent over the perceived abandonment, unable to contact her former lover for the past few months.

Luluko vi Britannia, also known as Zero, knew all that and more. Her anger had been magnified a hundredfold by Suzaku’s betrayal. He had participated in the rape of her memories. Called her a jealous, lying, manipulative bitch for Euphie’s murder.

Luluko would admit to being a lying, manipulative bitch, but she had given up on Suzaku for her sister Euphemia. Suzaku’s beliefs and her own did not match--they were never meant to be . . .

She had to fight back a wave of sadness that threatened to overwhelm her--Euphemia had been a cost she had not been prepared to pay until it had been demanded of her . . . 

_Damned hormones . . ._

“Should we get rid of him?” Rolo was asking as Luluko came back to the present. “I could use my _Geass_ on him and no--”

“Rolo! Let it be,” Luluko said sharply.

“But _Nee-san_ , he’s the one--”

“We gain nothing by killing him now.” Luluko clenched her fists and willed herself to be calm. She had worked so hard to subvert Rolo, Viletta and the entire surveillance team at Ashford! And Suzaku had to come back at this time! “We must pretend nothing has changed.”

“But--”

“Except for this,” Luluko said, placing a hand on her enlarged abdomen. “We can still confuse him . . . You just have to play along, Rolo.”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Viletta was right. The rumour mill at Ashford had been working overtime. In the course of one morning, Suzaku had already heard several versions of Luluko’s story and approximately a hundred theories about who the father was.

Oh, and he was significantly more popular now.

People who had barely known him when he was just Kururugi Suzaku, pet Eleven of the late Princess Euphemia, approached him now, in awe of his status as a member of the Knight of Rounds. He had been invited to a dozen parties already, several private gatherings as well as the fireworks festival that night but they were as inconsequential as the sea of gossip floating around him. 

Luluko’s actual friends were silent on the subject. Milly Ashford would have been one of the first to find out, but she was not forthcoming about the topic even when she greeted Suzaku enthusiastically in the Student Council Room. When Suzaku asked about Luluko, Milly had only said that she was recovering from some vague aliment of an unspecified nature.

Frustrated by the lack of actual answers, Suzaku escaped from the crowd and made his way to the residence where Luluko and Rolo Lamperouge lived, ostensibly to pay a courtesy call to his childhood friend.

They had been a little too good at hiding their affair. Suzaku had been Euphemia’s Knight and it was no secret that she had a fondness for him. That fact alone had probably saved his name from being bandied around as one of the potential fathers.

The boy that answered the bell, according to Viletta’s files, was Rolo Lamperouge. Planted as a spy for the surveillance team, he was supposed to be Luluko’s younger brother. 

“ _Nee-san_ ’s not seeing anyone right now,” Rolo said frostily. 

Suzaku stared back in mild surprise. “Rolo, have you forgotten--”

Lowering his voice but not changing his demeanour one bit, Rolo gestured to the back of the house. “Second floor, east wing.” Then he shut the door in Suzaku’s face. 

That kid gave him the creeps, Suzaku thought as he stealthily made his way to the back of the building. Scaling the trellis to the second floor and finding the right room was easy enough--he had done it many times before. It was seeing _her_ that stopped Suzaku dead in his tracks.

Even after everything that had happened, Suzaku felt momentarily robbed of breath when he laid his eyes on her after six months. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever known.

Seated alone on the window seat of her study, Luluko was looking out at the garden below, her aristocrat profile outlined in the sunlight like a perfectly poised alabaster statue. Her wealth of silky hair had been left unbound, hanging loosely in ebony waves down her back and curling gently to frame her slender neck. The loose gown she wore could not conceal the tell-tale swell of her belly and Suzaku felt his heart clench. She looked so fragile now . . .

Then he remembered that her beauty hid an evil, calculating mind that had orchestrated the slaughter of thousands of people. Suzaku hardened his heart and knocked politely on the doorframe.

Startled, Luluko turned towards the doorway. “I said I didn’t want any breakfa--Suzaku!”

Violet eyes widened first in shock and then surprise as she struggled to regain her composure. “How--how did you get in here?”

“The same way I always did,” Suzaku said, searching her face for any indication--any indication at all--that she had regained her memories. “I’m sorry, Luluko, but I had to come when I heard that--heard that you were . . .”

“Pregnant? Have you seen enough?” Luluko asked bitterly. “You can show yourself out the same way you came in. The same way you always did.”

“I didn’t know . . .” Suzaku lowered his gaze apologetically. She could just be a very good actress . . . Hell, he _knew_ she was a very good actress. “But you never told me . . .”

“You left! You left for some secret military business and I didn’t tell you because I couldn’t reach you!” Luluko cried. “Not for the lack of trying! Did you ever think about calling back? I only found out when I missed my period for the third month in a row!”

That was . . . entirely true, Suzaku realised belatedly as he reeled back from her outburst. He would not have been contactable by civilians at all.

All those nights together . . . and they had not used any protection. They had been just like the clueless kids in the sex ed videos at school. And like in the sex ed video, they had wound up in the same predicament. Suzaku felt just like those kids--only ten times worse because his girlfriend was Zero, terrorist leader and instigator of the Black Rebellion. And Euphie’s murderer. Who may or may not be free of the Emperor’s _Geass-_ -

“And besides . . . We said it was over, didn’t we?”

Luluko was crying--sobbing with great heaving gasps. Suzaku automatically dashed to her side and reached out to comfort her. Murderer or not, terrorist or not, she was still pregnant . . . with his child. There, he had admitted it to himself. He was partly responsible for this mess.

“Luluko, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t contact you,” he said, genuinely remorseful. He had been too caught up with his new position as a member of the Knight of Rounds. He had never imagined that his actions would turn out to be so utterly thoughtless and selfish. He was, Suzaku realised with increasing dismay, turning into his own father.

“ _Nee-san_ , I thought I’d bring up some--” Rolo appeared at the door carrying a tray, which he dropped when he saw Suzaku.

Suzaku and Luluko instinctively sprang apart, a holdover from the time when they had been pretending to be nothing more than friends.

“What are you doing here?” Rolo demanded. “Haven’t you done enough already? You’ve upset _Nee-san_ again!”

“Rolo--” Luluko started forwards, but Rolo was having none of it.

“Get out or I’ll do it myself!” 

Rolo was either a very good actor or he really was going to try to throw Suzaku out by himself. In the middle of being physically shoved out of the room, Suzaku felt Rolo shove a small folded piece of paper in his hand. He only had a chance to view its contents when he had been shown the door.

_10pm tonight. She will be alone._

Clutching the note in his clenched fist, Suzaku left the residence, his heart and mind in turmoil.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Back in the study, Luluko took a longer than expected time to get herself under control. Most of that outburst had been real, fuelled by the months of frustration and anger that she could not openly show. Carrying this secret had been harder than maintaining her guise as Zero and Luluko Lamperouge. Not even Zero, worker of miracles, had predicted _this_. This unforeseen development, this poor child conceived of an ill-timed union between two mortal adversaries.

Poor child indeed. Luluko herself was not even sure about the baby’s fate. The one thing she was certain of was that it would not be abandoned or thrown aside. Not like herself and Nunnally . . . 

But in the end, perhaps it would be better for the child if it was adopted by some ordinary family who just wanted a child to raise. Safe in ignorance, never having to bear the heavy and potentially deadly weight of its dual heritage . . . On one hand, it was the illegitimate child of an Imperial Princess and the only son of Japan’s last Prime Minister. On the other, it was the offspring of Japan’s supposed saviour and its greatest traitor. 

The secret lovechild of unremarkable Britannian student Luluko Lamperouge and the Knight of Seven was just another scandal that neither of them could afford.

Luluko hugged her abdomen protectively. _Poor, poor child_ . . . She had another month or so to decide. In the meantime, she had to stay ahead of Suzaku in this perilous game.

“That was good acting, Rolo,” Luluko said despite the fact that she knew Rolo had been _this_ close to knifing Suzaku. “The tray was a nice touch.”

“I should get you another one,” Rolo said, surveying the mess. “ _Nee-san_ doesn’t eat enough.”

“I can eat later,” Luluko said. Rolo was a little too protective of her, but it was exactly the kind of feelings she had cultivated in him. He had his uses after all. “Did you give him the note?”

“I did . . . Are you sure you want to do this? Chances are, he will use it as an opportunity to test you.”

“He can try,” Luluko said, the only sign of her mood being the death-grip she had on her sodden handkerchief. “He can _try_ . . .”

* * * * * * * * * * * *

At ten o’clock that night, Suzaku stood in the shadows of the Lamperouge residence, experiencing a strong sense of déjà vu. The rest of the school had turned out in force for the fireworks festival. Except for the lone figure on the second floor.

As Rolo’s note had promised, she was alone. Luluko was watching the fireworks over Ashford Academy from the balcony of her room.

Someday, he would be far too old and creaky to attempt this, but while it lasted, Suzaku climbed up to the second floor again. This time, he had come prepared with the new Governor’s number on speed-dial on his mobile phone. It was now or never . . . despite his own brain screaming at him that it was a terrible thing to do to a pregnant woman. A pregnant woman who was carrying his child . . .

It had occurred to Suzaku that he might not be the father of the child . . . a possibility that had been irrevocably squashed when Viletta--with a strangely unreadable look in her eyes--had handed him the results of the paternity test that they had secretly carried out when Luluko had gone for her medical check-up. They had tested genetic samples from all and any males Luluko could have come into contact with at the estimated time of conception--Suzaku included.

But even without the test results, Suzaku had subconsciously known. 

It made it harder for him to slip in her bedroom--like he used to do when they were together and before everything had gone so terribly wrong--for the sole purpose of confronting her over her potential double life. But he entered anyway and made his way to her balcony.

Clad in a thin white nightshift and robe, the former princess was leaning against the balustrade, watching the explosions of colour overhead.

“Luluko.”

“Su-suzaku!” She turned at his approach, the bright magnesium flare of the fireworks highlighting the surprised expression on her face. “Why--I mean, what are you doing here?”

“I need to finish our conversation from this morning,” he said. “After all, I am involved.”

“But we agreed to break it off,” Luluko said, her perfect features hardening into a cold, aloof mask. “I only meant to tell you as a courtesy.”

“But why did you keep the baby? You could have--”

Her indifferent facade cracked right there and then. “It didn’t do anything to deserve that! The child is innocent. It shouldn’t have to pay for o--my mistakes.”

 _Our mistakes_. The child should not have to pay for their mistakes. She was right about that.

“Then what are you going to do--with it?” Suzaku winced inwardly, knowing that he could have put that better. And _it_ was such a strange term for the baby . . .

Luluko had not determined the baby’s sex. Suzaku could have ordered Viletta to have a karyotype test done on the genetic sample . . . but what would that accomplish in the long run?

Perhaps they both realised that that would be best for the child--XX or XY, girl or boy . . . They could distance themselves if they did not know if it would a girl with bright green eyes and inky black hair. Or a boy with unruly curls and intelligent violet eyes--

Yes, they would call the child _it_.

“I--I really don’t know.” A lull in the fireworks hid her expression from view. “I suppose . . . I could put it up for adoption.”

 _Now_ * * * * * * * * * * * *

Suzaku froze in mid-sentence and Luluko looked over his shoulder to find Rolo emerging from her bedroom. His _Geass_ , unlike hers, did not need direct eye contact to work.

“Rolo, what in the world are you doing?” Luluko hissed.

“Stopping him! _Nee-san_ , he’s going to try something--”

“I’ll take care of this!” Luluko frantically waved Rolo away. She had five more seconds before Suzaku unfroze. “Leave us alone! I mean _completely_ alone!”

Obviously unhappy about the situation, Rolo backed away from the balcony and out of the room. And just in time too. 

“--meone who might be able to help . . . find foster parents for the baby,” Suzaku said. “They’ll be discreet about it.”

“Maybe that would be the best.” Luluko turned away abruptly. “You should go--my reputation has about had it, but yours--”

“Screw that,” Suzaku said. In an instant, he was by her side and gently turning her to face him.

“It’s the damned hormones,” Luluko said, blinking away the tears. The tendency to tear up every time she thought about the baby came in useful sometimes. Despite herself, she was hyperaware of Suzaku’s hands through the thin robe, the warmth emanating from his body . . .

“You don’t need to go through this alone,” Suzaku said, gently wiping the tear tracks away. “We’ll think of something else . . .”

And when he leaned down to kiss her, she was unprepared for the tenderness that disarmed her completely. Any other thought processes were derailed as Luluko responded to the kiss that left them both slightly breathless and flushed.

“Suzaku . . .” She leaned against him, weak at the knees and desperately trying to clear her head. This was _exactly_ what had got them into this mess in the first place!

But all Luluko could think about was the feeling of his arms around her, cradling her close. She clutched at the fabric of his uniform, tilting her head up for another kiss.

She had been a virgin when they had first consummated their rather complicated relationship. Suzaku had been the only man she had been with and she was still relatively inexperienced.

Not inexperienced enough to ignore the throb of desire that pulsed through her in response to Suzaku’s kisses. She might blame her overactive hormones for this later, but right there and then, Luluko was drowning in the sensation of Suzaku’s lips on her skin. Her carefully-laid plans, her ploy to allay his suspicions--all of them forgotten in the heat of the moment.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

He should not have kissed her. Suzaku knew this even as he bent to press his lips against hers.

But at least Suzaku could admit to himself that whatever her motives, Luluko would never hurt the baby. He knew her well enough to surmise that most of her tears were not faked. She really did not want to give the child up, even though wild horses could not drag the truth from her.

That was Luluko all the way--contrary as hell and stubborn enough to give the Devil a headache.

He had a mission, did he not? But the damned mission could wait, he thought hazily as he kissed Luluko until she was breathless and trembling in his arms.

“Suzaku . . .” Her voice made his name sound like a prayer. Irony of ironies . . .

He really should not have kissed her, Suzaku thought ruefully as her gathered her up and carried her back into her bedroom.

Settling Luluko gently on her bed, Suzaku could finally admit to himself that he missed her, wanted her in a way that was different from how he viewed Euphie.

Euphemia . . . had been untouchable. A goddess that he could not aspire to. So different from Luluko, who looked up at him with questioning eyes as she lay couched in the ebony halo of her long hair. So strange that the more ethereal-looking princess had been his dark Eve, the earthly temptation that he could not resist.

Like now, in her bed as Suzaku undid the robe and gown. He willed himself to go slowly so as not to alarm her as he unveiled her body, selfishly giving into desire. It might have been an effect of her pregnancy or his overactive imagination, but her pale skin was almost luminescent in the dimly-lit room.

Familiar yet unfamiliar. Luluko was still as slender and long-limbed as he remembered. Suzaku reached out to touch that softly glowing skin, tracing her fine collarbone and her small, high breasts. He only hesitated at the rounded swell of her abdomen. It was . . . odd. 

“Suzaku . . .” 

He looked up at her and was simultaneously aroused and humbled by the fire in her eyes. She took his hand and laid it on her belly. Suzaku almost jumped out of his skin at the contact. Under his hand and under her skin, something had moved.

The baby had moved. Not a stranger at all but the fruit of what they had shared together. _Ah._

She had kept it because it was _his_ child.

Suzaku almost laughed aloud at the absurdity of it all. In any other universe, this was not a mistake. In any other circumstances, it would have been their child. In a different world, there would have been no Zero, no Knight of Seven, no bloody revolution and no unbridgeable gulf between them.

_You’re going to be born into the wrong world . . . And you can blame that on your parents._

He buried his face in her midnight hair, breathing in the essence of her and letting the soft balm of her hands on his back sooth him.

Their kisses were less hurried and more drawn out as they took their time to relearn each other. He caressed her body, now fascinated by her belly. The milk-white skin stretched taut over the firmness underneath--it was almost erotic. Leaving her mouth temporarily, he carefully parted her legs. She was already quickening, her clitoris dark pink and moist with her desire. 

“Suzaku!” she moaned as he worshiped her with his tongue, feeling her sensitive nub quiver in response to his ministrations. Suzaku doubled his efforts, kissing her other lips as passionately as he had just minutes before.

He had to look up again after Luluko’s insistent tugging on his hair distracted him from finishing his task.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered, flushed pink and obviously very close.

“But the baby--” Suzaku said, even as he felt his own erection straining at his pants. “Is it safe to do that?” If his memory served him correctly, Luluko’s pregnancy was going just fine according to the medical report.

“The gynaecologist said . . . I could still have sex,” Luluko mumbled, red-faced. “I didn’t ask her--she just volunteered it--”

In the end, they found a way. Suzaku got his trousers off and lifted Luluko to straddle him. He eased into her, inch by torturous inch, despite her protestations that she was not made of glass. 

“Is this okay?” Suzaku asked as he began to rock her gently on his lap.

“Y-yes . . . faster,” Luluko urged. She could be very demanding when she got in the mood, Suzaku remembered fondly as they both increased the speed of their movements. 

“Luluko,” he groaned as her inner muscles tightened around him as she ground down. He moved his hips upwards to meet her, feeling her shiver as their mutual desire turned even more urgent.

“Ahhh . . Suzaku! I’m--uuunnhhh!” Luluko flung her head back, back arched and nipples proudly erect in the throes of her climax. Her inner walls clamped around him with almost unbearable pressure as she shuddered her way to completion.

Suzaku almost forgot to breathe at the unforgettable sight of her above him as he came with enough force to cause a momentary blackout.

_Really, really shouldn’t have kissed her . . ._

Coming back to reality with her full weight still on him, Suzaku tangled his hands in the soft cloak of her hair that now shrouded them both, sated and momentarily free of the concerns that had plagued him earlier on. For the time being, he was at peace. A brief second of respite from the turmoil around them both.

“Ummnn . . .” Luluko buried her face sleepily in the crook of his neck. She looked as though she could barely keep her eyes open.

“You should go to sleep now,” he said, carefully shifting her back onto the bed.

“Stay,” she murmured, clutching at his arm.

“If I stay, your brother will kill me in the morning.” They had never slept in the same bed before for fear of discovery.

“Rolo doesn’t get up until seven . . . You can stay ‘til six-thirty . . .”

He gave in, settling beside her and tucking the duvet around them. Luluko snuggled under his chin with a sigh of satisfaction when he drew her close. After all, it might be his last chance--their last chance at pretending everything was all right.

* * * * * * * * * * * *


	2. Intermission

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The peaceful calm of the night was broken by a loud crash that sounded like a lot of wood falling to the ground outside the residence where the Lamperouge siblings lived.

“What was that?” Luluko asked, looking up from her laptop. She was putting the last touches on the next operation and saving it so that the Black Knights could carry it out without her actually being present. She had to hurry for the window for transmission using the current channel was going to close soon.

“I don’t know, _Nee-san_ ,” Rolo said from where he was practicing scales on the piano. “Maybe I should check outside . . .” 

“Well, be careful,” Luluko said, closing her files and reverting her laptop back into “normal” mode. She brushed her hair back unconsciously in anticipation after Rolo left. It was not as though Rolo did not know what had happened between them, but he seemed to be extra prudish around Suzaku . . . It did add some veracity to the whole affair--and here Luluko felt vexed. She should not have let it get out of hand. Suzaku had been visiting as often as he could without being noticed and sometimes they had . . .

Telling herself firmly that resistance leaders did not blush like schoolgirls, Luluko put away her laptop and resisted the urge to got stand by the window. There was no need for that kind of act now that Suzaku seemed to trust her. But her findings showed that every time she did it, there would be an almost eighty per cent chance that they would--

_What the hell are you thinking? You’re sleeping with the enemy!_

Telling herself that she was playing along with the whole thing to gain his trust was not working. And if she could put on an act, then so could he! 

Luluko looked down at her body, clad in a shapeless night-gown. Skinny limbs and swollen abdomen. Ugh--Suzaku could not be physically attracted to her. What in the world had she been thinking?

Her convoluted train of thought was brought to a halt by the appearance of one rather dishevelled Knight of Seven at the doorway of her study. He looked like he had got into a fight with a tree.

“Suzaku, what happened?” Luluko asked, her misgivings overshadowed by concern.

“It was the strangest thing,” Suzaku said, brushing the stray bits of leaves and grass off his uniform. “I was climbing up the trellis and all of a sudden the entire thing broke away from the wall.”

“Are you all right?” Suzaku’s athletic abilities were not proof against every accident. Although he had been uncommonly lucky . . . 

“Oh, I landed on my feet,” Suzaku said, not mentioning how he had to duck out of the way of the falling trellis and a number of flowerpots that had been dislodged from the parapet.

“Let me check . . . You’ve been grazed--I’ll go get the first-aid kit--”

“You should sit down and relax--I’ll get the first-aid kit,” Suzaku said, ushering her into a chair.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Out in the hallway, Rolo cursed silently. It was too good to hope that Suzaku would not survive a two-storey fall with the help of a saw and some carefully hidden adjustments to the arrangement of the flowerpots. Now Luluko was even more concerned for Suzaku!

He obviously had to rethink his strategy . . .

From inside Luluko’s study, a muffled giggle cut through the conversation and Rolo’s scowl deepened. It had been bad enough to walk in on them when Suzaku had his head under his sister’s skirt . . . (And Rolo was not so naïve to believe the story about retrieving a dropped stylus.)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Luluko read through the carefully coded email. It was supposedly from some schoolmate asking her when she would be back in class with a sideways mention of her pregnancy. Luluko had been uncomfortable at first with using the code she had devised, but it was the least suspicious one she could come up with--it was not as though her condition as a secret any more. The mention of the word “abort” or “abortion” indicated that the operation would have to stop. Any email mentioning “keeping the baby” was a signal for the plan to go ahead.

At the moment, C.C.’s report from Chinese Federation showed that everything as going as planned. If only everything in her life went according to plan . . .

She was well aware that the past week had been a time outside the grim reality of world events. This thing with Suzaku . . . could not go on any longer without both their masks slipping. They were on opposite sides, following vastly different ideals for the sake of different goals.

And in the short time that they had shared something in common just seven months ago, she had managed to get knocked up. If her father knew, if the nobles at court in Pendragon knew, they would laugh her for being stupid enough to land herself into the one situation that princesses should never be in.

But she was no longer a Princess of the Empire. Luluko clenched her jaw, feeling a new surge of determination as she felt the baby move within her. She had chosen to keep the child, despite the obvious problems and complications. She would birth it and . . . And whatever she did with it afterwards would hinge on what happened in the next two months.

Sighing in frustration, Luluko fired off a reply and stood up to stretch. Not being physically on the field was eroding at her limited store of patience. All she did these days was wait for reports disguised as frivolous emails while planning the next stage . . .

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. She knew who it would be before she opened the door. A distraction was still a distraction no matter what shape it took. Her visitor was in significantly worse shape since the last time she saw him.

“Suzaku! What . . .” Luluko trailed off as she took in the extent of his injuries. It did not look like an accident involving a Knightmare Frame. And there were a lot of scratches that suggested that he had been clawed by a psychopath with long nails or . . . “Arthur? A bunch of rabid cats?”

“Arthur,” Suzaku said sheepishly. “He attacked me for some reason this morning when I was getting ready to go to school.”

It was hard not to feel sympathetic for him. There were bandages all along the side of his neck and face. “That’s terrible . . . Did you go see a doctor? Cat scratches are highly infectious.”

“Yes . . . She said I was fine but I should take my cat to a vet. I don’t know what set him off like that.” Suzaku had a soft spot for cats a mile wide. Arthur could probably commit murder and Suzaku’s last words would still be, “It’s not Arthur’s fault, really”.

“Maybe you and Arthur should stay away from each other for a while,” Luluko said, gingerly reaching out to touch the side of his face that was unmarked by scratches.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Rolo ground his teeth and fingered his pocket-knife. The powdered catnip on Suzaku’s uniform had been a last ditch attempt at using Suzaku’s own cat against him. But the rest of Suzaku’s unnatural luck had ensured that Arthur had got to him early in the morning rather than say, at the top of some of Ashford’s notably long staircases where a fall would have caused significantly more injury than a few scratches.

“Rolo, could you help me get the first-aid box?” Luluko asked as she opened the door and saw him outside. “Suzaku needs a change of bandages.”

“Of course, _Nee-san_.” Turning quickly so that she could not see his expression, Rolo stomped downstairs to the kitchen to fetch the first-aid box.

Next time, he would poison the anti-septic lotion in the first-aid box . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * *

On his way back to his temporary lodgings at the student dormitory that night, Suzaku saw that Viletta Nu was waiting for him in the shadows of the gateway.

Viletta silently handed him a data disc in response to his greeting.

“What’s this?”

“The surveillance records on the Lamperouge residence for the past week. That’s the only copy. I deleted the original,” Viletta said, steadfastly staring him in the face. “I suggest that you destroy it.”

And he knew what her look meant. _Get out now. Get out before it’s too late._

But she did not know that it was already too late. Or did she?

“Thank you, Baroness Nu. I will take your advice into consideration,” Suzaku said. He knew that time was running out. The new Governor was due to arrive in Area 11 within the next two days and he still could not confirm if Luluko had regained her memories or if she was in contact with the Black Knights. He had been distracted by Luluko’s condition and the unknown fate of the child she carried.

Viletta Nu inclined her head slightly and walked away. She trusted that he would make a decision. Suzaku wondered if he could trust himself to make the _right_ decision. The worrying thing was, he was aware of what direction his thoughts were going in and it was one that no-one was going to like.

_Nunnally, I would like to marry your sister--the one said to be lost during the Black Rebellion last year, but sorry, we were lying about that--and legitimise our illegitimate offspring even though she might be Zero. Only she was actually Zero but your father wiped her memory after I caught her. That would be why she doesn’t remember you . . . No I don’t actually know what we’ll do if we find out that she is still Zero . . ._

Yes, that would go down really well. The trouble was, Suzaku could not see the Emperor agreeing to it either.

_Your Majesty, I would like to marry your daughter--_

_The one you knocked up? Sir Kururugi, can this wait until after we find codename C.C.?_

If the Emperor had received the same reports from the surveillance team, then he already knew. And he did not care about his wayward offspring beyond the fact that she was the bait for drawing out that green-haired woman who was Lulu’s supposed accomplice.

Luluko would then kill him for asking her father for her hand--if she actually had her old memories back. After rejecting his offer of marriage for the baby’s sake because she was ferociously independent and hated pity of any sort. “Male chauvinist pig” would be the least of what she would hurl at him. 

Suzaku could see why matchmakers were so popular in the past in Japan. They faced down the prospective parents and brides first.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

It was supposed to be a meeting to talk about potential . . . options. Somehow or other, like all the other time when they had met, it had degenerated into something else all together.

Luluko still blamed her hormones. She had experienced periods of frustration--sexual or otherwise--throughout her pregnancy. But she never had an outlet for it-- 

“Oh--oh! Suzaku!” Her head thumped back into the sofa cushions, back arching as her hips thrust up, shamelessly trying to grind her sex against his lips and tongue--

That tongue was doing wicked, wicked things between her legs as she sprawled on the sofa. Her siblings and some of those stuffier nobles would have been appalled at her wanton behaviour. Her mother on the other hand . . . 

Marianne had not been a virgin when she had been made a Knight of Rounds. She had not gone into her marriage as a blushing, inexperienced bride. In fact, Marianne never blushed. Everything she did had been so natural and free of the expectations that bound everyone else. Like driving prototype KMFs into the Palace and continuing to serve as a Knight even though she was an Imperial consort and mother to the Emperor’s children.

Luluko wondered if her mother would have approved. A princess was supposed to save herself for a marriage that was more likely to be a political alliance than a partnership of individuals in love. She had seen noble families with stiff-faced patriarchs who did not sleep in the same bedroom as their wives. Her own mother had to share the Emperor with a hundred and three other wives, but as she was not a true noble, there was no real value in such a union in the eyes of the court. Luluko liked to think that her mother had accepted her father’s proposal out of something more than just duty.

Duty . . . She was able to admit it freely to herself now. Her feelings for Suzaku had not changed. Once, she had tried to give him up, but now _this_ . . .

One of the main reasons why the princes and princesses were often isolated and privately schooled was so that they would not form attachments to unsuitable candidates. And Kururugi Suzaku would definitely qualify as an unsuitable candidate. Even as Knight of Rounds, he would still be an Eleven to the Britannians.

Princess or not, she was remiss in her duties. Instead of planning the Black Knight’s next move, she was fraternising with the enemy. In the eyes of the most nationalistic Japanese, Suzaku was the most vilified traitor to his native land. She should never have got involved with him again--

“Aaahhh!” She writhed as strong, tanned fingers stroked her nipples, derailing her train of thought. The feeling--the feeling of his tongue on her most intimate surfaces . . .

This was outside the battlefield, separate from the war that they were fighting. She only wished that the baby could be born free of the conflict. It did not deserve this--any of this. No child did. She would have to bring things to a conclusion swiftly now--

“Oooh! Yes, like that!” she cried, clutching at Suzaku’s hair. Her inner muscles clenched involuntarily--she was so close now. 

Perhaps spurred on by her soft cries, Suzaku had redoubled his efforts, tongue flicking rapidly against the slippery nub of her clitoris. Luluko felt the toe-curling _frisson_ of pleasure coursing through her as she peaked, fingers twisting in his soft curls as she held on for dear life. 

Her head lolled back onto the cushions as she was lost in the rapture of the moment. This was . . . it was what she wanted for herself. It was what she wished she could have, without complications both external and self-created. But it was too late for regrets now . . . 

“Suzaku,” she whispered, sagging into his arms as he got up from the floor to join her on the sofa. “That was . . . that was wonderful. A-and yourself?”

Luluko had learned not to blush anymore as she felt the stiffness of his erection through the fabric of his trousers. It was only right that they both enjoyed themselves. Suzaku would not let her overexert herself though, so she had to settle for getting him off by hand.

It was enough that he flushed when she touched him. That expression on his face as she stroked him, sliding her palm down his stiff cock--that was her doing. The way he whispered her name as he came--it was enough. 

It was more than what she deserved to have, right now. _Oh Euphie . . ._

 _I’m so sorry, Euphie . . ._ Her sister would have been better for Suzaku, Luluko thought as she wiped off Suzaku’s face and tried to clean them both up with the hand towel she kept around her for the sudden hormonal outbursts.

“Suzaku, I think it might be better if . . .” she began hesitantly. They were getting too comfortable on the sofa and she was afraid that if she spent any more time like this, she would lose her resolve.

However, a knock on the door forestalled any further conversation.

“It’s Rolo!” she hissed as Suzaku looked up in alarm. 

Luluko hastily put her loose gown back to rights, buttoning up the front and straightening the fabric over her abdomen. Her underwear was probably under the sofa by now--she would have to hunt for it later.

Suzaku was in a similar predicament, trying to get back into his uniform and praying that no tell-tale stains would show up.

Looking left and right to see if anything was amiss, Luluko settled back down on the sofa and Suzaku went to open the door. Rolo was there, armed with a death-glare that would have made lesser mortals wet themselves. Suzaku was made of sterner stuff and assumed a mostly wooden expression as the boy marched in stiffly to announce that tea was ready.

“If you’re done with your discussion, of course, _Nee-san_ ,” Rolo said, pointedly not looking at Suzaku.

“Yes, we should have tea before Suzaku goes,” Luluko said, turning to address their guest. “Won’t you stay for tea?”

“Um, I have to take this call,” Suzaku said, pointing at his buzzing mobile. “So if you don’t mind . . .”

“Oh, all right . . . What was it you wanted to talk to me about today?” she asked. Luluko hoped that he would not, out of some misplaced sense of duty, propose to her. It would be difficult to turn him down without getting into exactly why it was such a bad idea.

“Oh, er, it’s not urgent,” Suzaku said. “I have to go now. It’s . . . probably work.”

“Oh. Well, then maybe another day,” Luluko said, feeling reality reassert itself once again. He was a Knight of Rounds. They were not--could not be--lovers. Soon, they would have to separate permanently.

It was probably better that way.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

_Coward._

He had chickened out of telling her who the new Governor was to gauge her reaction. It was just too difficult for him at this juncture.

Suzaku knew he should never have got involved with her again. If she did not have her memories, then he was essentially participating in rape. If she had her old memories back, then they were both lying. Lies upon more lies . . . 

Those thoughts weighed on his mind as he returned to the Britannian Government Complex. Arthur scrambled out of his carrier, glad to be free to roam around the much larger quarters available to Sir Kururugi here.

He was still preoccupied with the problem as he changed into the official uniform of the Knight of Seven. The uniform he had earned by betraying her. Although to be fair, he had not known about the baby at that time . . . 

So engrossed was he that he got dressed without really thinking and reached out absent-mindedly to pet Arthur when the cat jumped up onto the dresser.

Arthur was never absent-minded when it came to Suzaku. 

“Ow! Arthur!” Suzaku yelled and clutched at his wounded hand. Was it his imagination or had that bite been harder than usual? 

Nevertheless, the cat had effectively shaken him out of his funk. He went to find the antiseptic and bandages before becoming the Knight of Seven once again.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Humans, Arthur knew, were strange creatures. They were oddly preoccupied with their offspring. Tom cats, on the other hand, did not give a toss about any kittens that issued from a night of passion. His human was close to having kittens himself over the very idea of impending fatherhood. A better cat would have sat their human down for a serious session of cat-therapy with purring thrown in.

Arthur was not that kind of cat. He only knew that Suzaku wanted to be punished. Cats had no concept of self-flagellation or masochism. Arthur thought his human was unwell at first, but apparently it was an on-going condition.

Arthur did aim to please. It was the least he could do for the human who had taken him in.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

**Author's Note:**

> Great prompt, so I wrote it . . . I'm easily influenced, remember?
> 
> Blah-end-notes:
> 
> \- Not As Planned refers to a) the pregnancy, b) Suzaku’s grand plan meeting up with a major roadblock, c) Luluko’s original plans going haywire, d) Suzaku and Luluko’s respective stratagems flying out of the window because of their UST attempting to resolve itself. 
> 
> \- It Probably Gets Worse.
> 
> \- Because the fic may continue.


End file.
